Portulaca oleracea or purslane is a succulent annual herb growing 10-30 cm tall. It thrives in warm, sandy soils and is considered a weed in most regions due to its invasive growth patterns. The plant has red-brown stems and wedge-shaped leaves. It blooms in summer featuring yellow flowers containing 4-6 petals which give way to black, rough seeds. Though purslane is also known as little hogweed, it should never be mistaken with the giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).
[Note: The Right Flowers is not a medical site. Knowledge of and information about the therapeutic benefits and applications of flowers, while known through the ages, does not constitute medical advice. If you are having health issues, you should consult with a physician.]
The health benefits of purslane were discovered and exploited more than 2,000 years ago. Ancient Romans used pursalne to treat dysentery, stomachache, intestinal worms, and headache. Pedanius Dioscorides, the 1st-century Greek physician recommended consuming purslane to treat headaches, indigestion, toothache, and inflammation.
Dioscorides stated that the plant’s juices were effective for managing high fever and had the potential for treating urinary tract problems as well as internal bleeding.
In China, the herb was commonly referred to as the “vegetable for long life.” Its flowers and leaves were dried and used for diarrhea, eczema, fever, and hematochezia. In addition, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has always used the herb for treating urolithiasis, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and diabetes.
Basically, purslane is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and high in minerals and vitamins. It also possesses antioxidants including beta carotene, ascorbic acid, glutathione, and topopherol. The plant is also known to contain alkaloids, lipids, and glycosides.
Improves cardiovascular health
Studies have shown that the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in this herb are ideal for reducing bad cholesterol in the body. This helps in promoting healthier cholesterol balance and keeps cardiovascular complications such as strokes and heart attacks at bay.
Helps in child growth and development
Purslane is rich in omega-3s. Though there is a need for more research into this field, early studies indicate that omega-3 fatty acids in the diet of young kids seem to reduce the risk of developmental disorders such as ADHD and autism.
Skin care
Purslane is known to assist in treating a wide variety of skin conditions. A study published in 2004 showed that purslane leaves have high levels of vitamin A. The vitamin, when combined with other compounds in this herb, helps in reducing inflammation when applied topically. When taken orally, it is thought to help in reducing wrinkles, enhance skin tone and stimulate the healing of skin cells which removes blemishes and scars.
While purslane is often ignored and considered a weed, harnessing its medicinal properties can be highly beneficial to your health.
The aster is a large genus of flowers named by the ancient Greeks for the star-like shape of its flower head, with the Greek word aster meaning star. When the Greek goddess Asterea wept, saddened by the lack of stars on earth, it was said that everywhere a tear drop landed, an aster grew. The aster took on magical and mystical properties; one of them is that the foliage has the power, when burned, to keep away evil serpents. In France, cut asters are often laid on the grave of a fallen soldier, partly to honor his bravery and partly to symbolize the wish that things had turned out differently.
They’re ancient wild flowers, with many alternative, common names. Michaelmas daisies (they bloom around the time of Michaelmas, September 29th), starwort, and Frost flowers. True asters being native to Europe and Asia, and with only one aster native to North America. There used to be many more flowers formerly known as “asters” growing in the New World, but they were almost all reclassified in the 90s, and this change left slightly fewer than 200 true aster species in the genus. For florists, though, Indeed, the aster you’ll often see in florists is the Chinese Aster (Callistephus chinensis). An interesting aside; in China, the aster symbolizes fidelity.
Asters usually have small to medium-sized flower heads, with some as much as a foot across. They’re similar in shape to a daisy, or the star after which they’re named. Enchanting, elegant and refined, the color range, thanks to many, many years of cultivation and hybridization, is from white through yellow, orange, pink, lavender, blue and violet to purple. The center of the flower is most often yellow. Bi-colors are also often found. When you send someone a gift including asters, you’re sending them a symbol of love and patience. They would make a wonderful way to patch over a misunderstanding or disagreement, or to request forgiveness if you’re late on a commitment or belatedly recognizing an event. Our favorite online florist, 
Cultivated for thousands of years, orchids are the largest family of flowering plants. There are more than 22,000 species of orchid, with almost 1,000 new varieties added every year. Since the 19th Century, and the discovery of tropical species and their subsequent cultivation, over 100,000 hybrids and cultivars have been produced. Our human history with orchids goes back quite a bit longer than the Victorian era, though.
The ancient Greeks associated orchids with fertility. They believed that the gender of an unborn child could be determined by which parent ate a particular kind of orchid; if the father ate large, young, orchid tubers, the child would be male, whereas if the mother ate small tubers, the child would be female. There’s no evidence this is the case today, but if you and your wife (orchids are almost exclusively given to women today) are trying for a baby, this might be a thoughtful gift, with a meaning special to just the two of you. 
In the Victorian age, British explorers and travelers returned home bearing tropical orchids, and set about cultivating them in hothouses and conservatories. In 1862, Charles Darwin published “Fertilisation of Orchids”, setting off a spree of activity up and down the land. Even so, the orchid remained a rare and precious plant, and because they were so expensive and hard to find at the time, they came to symbolize luxury. This image persists today, with the orchid symbolizing love, beauty, luxury and strength; the long-lasting orchid makes a perfect gift for the special someone in your life.